Isle Of Wight

United Kingdom

Isle Of Wight Travel Guide

The Isle of Wight is a British island in the English Channel,
located about four miles (6km) from the south coast of Hampshire
county. The southern situation ensures that the Isle of Wight has a
milder climate than other areas in England, making it a popular
holiday destination for sun-seekers. Boasting relatively mild
winters and a surprisingly low annual rainfall average the climate
borders on sub-tropical with occasional Mediterranean hints,
evident in the vegetation. The weather aside, the island's natural
beauty and Victorian architecture is popular with holidaymakers,
and it has been the home of eminent Britons including Queen
Victoria, acclaimed 19th-century poet Lord Alfred Tennyson, and
more recently Dame Ellen MacArthur, the record-breaking sailor.

The origin of the world's first hovercraft, and a key player in
the testing and development of Britain's space rockets, the Isle of
Wight also has a number of resorts and towns that host thousands of
visitors each year. The most developed towns are Newport and Ryde,
both with a wide range of facilities for tourists to enjoy, and
popular seaside resorts include the towns of Sandown, Cowes,
Yarmouth and Ventnor. These south coast resorts often top the
sunlight chart for the UK, and unsurprisingly the most popular time
to visit is summer, between June and August.

The island has an array of tourist attractions, with everything
from regal homes to dinosaur fossils to see, and is a popular
destination for upmarket seaside holidays from mainland England.
The international sailing centre in Cowes is a popular tourist hub,
as are the Newport Quay galleries and museums, and Sandown's
Dinosaur Isle Geological Museum. The Ryde waterfront boasts an
800m-long pier, the waterfalls of Shanklin Chine are an
awe-inspiring sight, and Osborne House - Queen Victoria's summer
residence in Cowes - is another excellent sightseeing attraction.
The Isle of Wight Needles, protruding chalk formations off the
western coast, are another famous feature of the island.

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